\n Sean Crimmins, a senior in engineering at the University of Nebraska, loads the robotic arm into its case on Aug. 11 before a shake test.
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Craig Chandler\/University of Nebraska Office of University Communication and Marketing<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Craig Chandler\/University of Nebraska Office of University Communication and Marketing<\/p>\n <\/span>\n<\/div>\n Sean Crimmins, a senior in engineering at the University of Nebraska, loads the robotic arm into its case on Aug. 11 before a shake test.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Craig Chandler\/University of Nebraska Office of University Communication and Marketing<\/p>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n The robot is small in size but its aspirations are out of this world \u2014 literally. <\/p>\n MIRA, which stands for miniaturized in vivo robotic assistant, recently became the first surgical robot at the International Space Station. <\/p>\n The tiny robot, which weighs about 2 pounds, arrived at the space station on Feb. 1. Over the next few weeks, the robotic assistant will practice operating in zero gravity. <\/p>\n Developers plan to use MIRA to conduct a surgical simulation via remote-controlled technology, with a surgeon directing its movements 250 miles away from Nebraska.<\/p>\n “The tasks mimic surgical tissue with tension that allows a dissection to be performed,” a University of Nebraska release explained. The robot “will use its left arm to grasp, and its right arm to cut, much like a human surgeon in a hospital operating room.”<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2024\/02\/10\/20240129-miramain-02-c1fb57efe552ac467f377091bdc7c8e63690c969-s1200.jpg\")
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